Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Not a Solution.

If you live in Vancouver you may have heard the latest thing that nightclubs believe they are doing to prevent violence – they have begun to focus on what their customers are wearing. Downtown bars are actually turning people away because they are wearing brands of clothing that have been identified as “ganster-wear”. And we are not talking about specific gang or organized club vests, shirts, or jackets. We are talking about name brand clothing that is sold at your local shopping mall; brands such as Ed Hardy & Affliction.

I have a couple opinions on this one.

1. By banning people wearing a specifc name brand is NOT going to prevent the same people from coming into the downtown area and enjoy a night out at the nightclubs. They will simply find another brand name such as the classic Gucci or Louis Vuitton to style in. Athough certain people have a large emphasis on what they wear, there is always another wardobe that will do the trick.

2. What is next? Will parking lots start banning vehicles that are bearing Harley Davidson Tags or P.Diddy Hummers and Chrome Spinners? Possibly anytype of heavy gold or silver jewelry? People of concern will either conform to the change or continue doing the same thing but at the end of the day – who they surround themselves with, the actions that they deliver, and what they bring to society still remains the same.

3. Lastly, who the hell evaluates what & what isn’t ganster-clothing? How are you labeled a ganster and if people like Paris Hilton and Ozzy Osborne wear these brand names – you know for sure that more than just the ‘gangsters’ of the world are wearing them. It is a society that follows and needs things for a certain status but at the end of the day…let’s evaluate will the ‘gansters’ really care about switching shirts? They wouldn't have a choice if their id was scanned and they were banned if any criminal records show up...but a shirt can simply be turned inside out.

Let's change our actions and actually look at the root of the problem not the superficial fix.